DELAY IN JUSTICE IN HIGH-PROFILE HOMICIDE TRIALS: EVIDENCE FROM THE NOOR MUKADAM CASE IN PAKISTAN

Abstract

To start with, the issue of delay in criminal verdicts appears to be the most serious problem of the justice systems. This paper is the one that investigates the problem of justice delay at the systemic level by means of a detailed case study of the murder trial of Noor Mukadam in Pakistan. It was the Islamabad sessions court which sentenced Zahir Jaffer to death in February 2022, while his other two guards accused were sentenced to custodial terms. Besides the presence of compelling evidence and public attention, the case gives the main perspective through which the procedural impediments in the criminal courts may be dissected. This work is based on the qualitative case study method of research and uses court judgments, charge sheets, and procedural documents. An extensive timeline and process mapping technique is employed to identify major stages in the course of the investigation, prosecution, trial, and sentencing. The results indicate that besides the fact that the delivery of justice was delayed by several sources among which were the lack of coordination between the investigative and prosecutorial agencies, the repeated procedural adjournments, the delayed forensic processes, and the complexities around the treatment of the co-accused. The interview revealed that disregard to the management of cases, accountability mechanisms, and time-fixed trial practices for serious violent offenses were the areas that needed an immediate change. Through the research, it is revealed that the publicized cases do not always lead to systemic efficiency and rather, they expose the continued weaknesses of the criminal court system. The paper goes further to offer evidence, based insights that could be used for reforming courts and the correction system in the jurisdictions with similar justice structures.